Are you familiar with the "Earth Experience?" If you like dinosaurs, you will like this...

Earth Experience, The Middle Tennessee Museum of Natural History, has launched a crowdfunding campaign through the fundraising web site Indigogo.com to help raise funds for its continued growth.

“The dream of this museum is to have a facility where life-size dinosaur skeletons and models inspire the curiosity of children of all ages!,” says museum director and visionary Alan Brown.

The crowdfunding campaign seeks to raise an initial $10,000 to help with the current operational needs of the 501(c)3 not-for-profit, as well as funding the beginnings of an endowment. Funders of the project will receive special gifts like fossils found here in middle Tennessee or a color changing coffee mug, depending on the level of investment.

“There is a community of geology and paleontology lovers right here in Middle Tennessee that have given us a lot of financial and moral support. In order to make this museum a destination for Rutherford County, we want to get buy-in from outside the region.”

The museum recently moved its new location off Old Salem road with more than 5,000 square feet of space. The museum isn’t open yet, but plans to have a soft launch within the coming weeks. The space is already filled with fossils, rocks and gemstone and dinosaur bones, including a full-scale Tyrannosaurus Tex skeleton.

Indiegogo.com provides millions of dollars to support start-up businesses, non-profits and idea makers by connecting people willing to invest anything from $1 to hundreds of thousands of dollars into organizations that mean something to them. Starting a campaign is free. Indiegogo.com collects a fee based on a percentage of the overall earnings of each campaign.

The Earth Experience began in 2013 based on the dreams of Alan Brown and Lewis Elrod. The museum’s board is composed of rock and gem lovers, dinosaur enthusiasts, scientists and amateurs. The museum can be visited by appointment. Contact information is available on the museum’s website, theearthexperience.org. The museum also has a presence on Facebook.